After 44 years, many original Time Out readers are now over 60; as a giveaway, it has to change. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Observer

Time Out in London is 44 years old, so rather too many of the spirits of the Sixties who first bought it are now over 60.It is, in short, an ageing listings magazine, selling (or being given away) to a pretty elderly audience. Can dropping the £3.25 price tag and dishing it out free boost 55,000 a week sales to 300,000 or more copies thrust into readers' hands (with ad revenue soaring to match)? Don't hold your breath. In particular, don't expect too much if Time Out stays with the format and critical attitudes of four decades ago. Many things may help to boost the sales of a listings mag for a young, get-out-and-spend readership. But without youth, and the clubbing, cinema-going elixirs it brings in train, free is a hollow word (as in, without profound change, you won't be able to give it away).